In recent years, users of games that were played using game software on home gaming devices have now more and more come to enjoy games which are implemented using a mobile phone, such as a smart phone.
Meanwhile, game application programs (hereinafter “game apps”) that are provided to mobile phones such as a smart phone can be downloaded from servers administered by communications carriers or from servers administered by major game software companies, and stored in a storage device in a mobile phone, so that by operating a touch panel or the like, the game user can run game apps stored in the storage device, and play games.
With conventional home gaming devices, game software is sold on CD-ROMs or game cartridges, but as noted earlier, it is possible to download, at no cost, most current game apps as described above that can be played on mobile phones, and for game users to play games for free.
However, game app developer companies need to recover their development costs, and therefore some game apps are provided with ways for inducing game users to pay money, such as by purchasing in-game redeemable tokens (such as currency or points that only be used in the game) which can be redeemed for various items used in the game.
Such payments may be made by purchasing a prepaid card and then manually entering into the mobile phone a code that is printed on the card, to link the code to the player's own in-game ID, or by using a QR camera of the mobile phone to recognize a QR code that is printed on the card, to link the code to the player's own ID without the need for a manual operation, thereby creating a deposited fund, and purchasing the in-game redeemable tokens (in-game currency or in-game points) within the range of the available deposited fund. It is then possible for the game user to perform an operation on the mobile phone to redeem the purchased in-game redeemable tokens for various items that can be of benefit to the game user (game player), such as advantages in advancing through the game or the like while playing a game in the game app. Once redeemed, a prescribed percentage of the price of the purchased item is paid out to the game app developer who provided the game app.
Additionally, other typical payment methods include payment by credit card, by carrier settlement in which settlement is made separately from the mobile phone company's connection fees, by gift card, or by PayPal (trademark).
The system disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1 is a further known system for a player to debit gaming charges from a personal bank account by payment data sent via a host computer at the phone company, by connecting from a mobile phone.
It is noted that the aforementioned forms of payment are typically known as in-app payments. In cases in which items are purchased for use in the game, by arrangements involving paying for content, for services of various kinds, or for additional functions, and the like, from within an application software (application program) used on a mobile phone, including a smart phone, these in-app payments may also be referred to as item payments. Other examples of the definition of in-app payments of both consumable type and non-consumable type include the following.
(Consumable type) Packages of files that can be exported into new formats, game currencies, game hints, additional lives, acquisition of experience points
(Non-consumable type) Upgrades to a pro edition, removal of ads, unlocking the complete version of the game, unlimited hints, additional characters, additional accessories, bonus game levels, city guide map. With the consumable types, it is not possible to migrate items to another device, but with the non-consumable types, it is possible to link to a user ID and migrate items to other devices.